Anyone who reads my posts knows how important intent is for me and for how I live my life. Over the last two years, as my world grew in ways I never could have imagined, I have become practically evangelical about the power of intentional action and thought. It is at the center of every decision I make. Intent is my faith.
My intent when I sat down today was to be all inspiration and motivation. If I couldn’t do that, I wanted to at least be pithy and funny. Maybe even make people laugh as we head into our second full month of Groundhog Day after Groundhog Day after Groundhog Day. I wanted to bring a fresh new take on life in isolation and social distancing.
Which makes it so much more frustrating to have to admit that I got nothin’. Nothing at all.
The internet’s got it covered. Article after article about how to survive quarantine. How to take care of yourself. Top five tips and tricks to make social distancing work for you. It’s literally quarantine-survival information overload. And the truth is, I have found myself in a state of total overstimulation with all the suggestions about how to survive my boredom. Which brings me back to intent.
My intent now is to embrace the truth that there is no right way to keep busy during quarantine. It’s completely okay if I spend entire days doing nothing productive. It is also okay if I am a super-efficient machine. I can spend my day going for walks, FaceTiming with friends and family, cleaning and doing laundry, or just binging trashy TV. Honestly, it really doesn’t matter what I do or how I spend my time. What matters is staying home and staying healthy.
So, my hope – my intent – is that we allow ourselves some grace. Get through quarantine however you need to get through quarantine. No one is standing around waiting to hand out blue ribbons and gold stars for going back to daily life with a perfectly organized house. Or with a completely cleared out DVR. Stay home and get through however you need to get through. Whatever it takes, however it looks. We got this.
Quarantine Boredom
- by Patti Callahan
- | April 5, 2020